Elkin Discusses Representation of Veoh with the Wall Street Journal

Winston & Strawn's Michael Elkin, managing partner of the firm's New York office, was interviewed in the Wall Street Journal's law blog "Fireside" section on December 21, 2011. In the interview, he discussed his recent representation of Veoh, who just won a major victory in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals against Universal Music Group (UMG). 

Veoh, a San Diego-based online video company, was sued in 2007 by UMG, the world's largest music company, which accused Veoh of copyright infringement. On December 20, 2011, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, ruling that the conduct of Veoh fell within the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and rejected UMG's contentions that Veoh's copying, processing and offering access to uploaded video content disqualified Veoh from safe harbor immunity.

When asked what the Ninth Circuit's decision means in the bigger picture, Elkin notes that for Web site owners and operators that offer user-generated content and depend on the safe harbor provisions of the DMCA, this will help define how people use the Internet and the parameters of the law for video sharing websites.

Elkin, an intellectual property lawyer who once represented record labels, publishers and artists like Prince, is now fighting on the side of the technology companies because he "felt that someone who had experience and background representing content providers could help the technology companies figure out a way forward."